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Five Near Misses for a Cleveland Browns Super Bowl

By Elliot Kennel

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - SEPTEMBER 25: Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar talks with Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown before the start of the game against the Miami Dolphins on September 25, 2016 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - SEPTEMBER 25: Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar talks with Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown before the start of the game against the Miami Dolphins on September 25, 2016 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images) /
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1988: Quarterback Bernie Kosar
1988: Quarterback Bernie Kosar /

No. II:  The Drive, January 11, 1987

The 1986 Browns team was probably the best in the post-Jim Brown era. Bernie Kosar,  Ernest Byner, and Kevin Mack were all at their peak. That team had earned home-field advantage throughout the playoffs by going 12 and 4 while scoring 391 points and giving up 310. They had  Brian Brennan, Reggie Langhorne, Webster Slaughter, and Ozzie Newsome to catch the ball.

The defense featured four Pro Bowlers in cornerbacks with Frank Minniefield and Hanford Dixon. And they were joined in the Pro Bowl by nose tackle Bob Golic and left outside linebacker Chip Banks. Ends Carl Hairston and Reggie Camp combined for 16 sacks. Clay Matthews, who should be in the Hall of Fame, anchored the right outside linebacker spot. That is a pretty good defense right there.

In the AFC Championship Game, the Browns were not exactly dominant but were clearly the better team for most of the game. Ahead by seven points, a muffed kickoff return left Elway and the Broncos at their own 2-yard line with 5:32 remaining, it seemed that the Browns had all but clinched a trip to the Super Bowl.

The Drive covered an excruciating 15 plays and used up most of the clock to march 98 yards down the field, with Elway connecting with Mark Jackson for the tying touchdown and ultimately winning in overtime with a field goal. The Browns got the Broncos to 3rd-and-18 at one point but never forced them to fourth down.

There is a reason that Elway is in the Hall of Fame. The Drive has become an iconic clutch performance. For Browns fans, it is stomach-wrenching. Among villains in this drama, Elway is in a class by himself and to this day continues to generate nausea at the mere mention of his name or The Drive.

What makes this loss even more difficult than The Fumble is that the 1986 team had the best record in the AFC, was favored by the experts, and to this day this reporter continues to believe that they had the better team overall that year. They had the best shot of winning it all in the Super Bowl era.

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